What is the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project?

The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project works to prevent and correct the conviction of innocent people in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. We have one of the highest success rates in the country for exonerating those who have been wrongfully accused.

The people who come to MAIP for help have nowhere else to turn. Many have been convicted of terrible crimes and are despised and ignored by society despite their innocence. Often, they have never had competent legal representation. MAIP gives hope to people who feel that they are out of options.

We know how difficult correcting wrongful convictions is, which is why we also work to prevent them in the first place. We have helped pass 19 laws that would prevent or make it easier to correct wrongful convictions. We also work with the Conviction Integrity Unit at the US Attorney’s Office to reform the criminal justice system. We have also participated in large-scale reviews of evidence with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, DC and the Department of Forensic Science in Virginia.

Since the project began in 2000, we have helped secure the release or exoneration of 42 men in the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia region. These men spent a total of 837 years in prison–years that were not spent with their children and their families.

We work to correct that massive injury to justice every day.

What cases do we review?

We review the cases of innocent prisoners convicted in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. We look for cases where we can use new evidence, often from DNA, to prove the prisoner is innocent.

For more information on cases we review, visit our Frequently Asked Questions page. If you would like the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project to review your case, visit Ask For Help.

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